First Institute for Sport Business Advisory Board takes place on campus

Industry leaders from the sport business sector visited the London campus last week(Wednesday 14 February 2018) to attend the first Institute for Sport Business (ISB) Advisory Board meeting.

The ISB Advisory Board has been designed to ensure that Loughborough University London’s Institute for Sport Business continues to deliver teaching relevant to industry and as a result produces desirable graduates for the industry.

The Board consists of the following members:

  • Kate Bosomworth, Chief Marketing Officer, M&C Saatchi
  • Alex Coulson, Executive Director, Sport Industry Group
  • Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events, London & Partners
  • Rebecca Hopkins, Managing Director, ENS PR Ltd
  • Will Lloyd, CEO, GlobalSportsJobs
  • Sophie Morris, Director and Strategic Marketing & Sponsorship Consultant, Millharbour Marketing Consultancy
  • Bob Reeves, Director, Foundation For Leadership Through Sport
  • Ben Smith, Head of Research & Development Performance Systems, Chelsea FC
  • Sam Yardley, Associate Director, Two Circles

The ISB Advisory Board will meet twice a year and contribute insights from their diverse range of disciplines within the sport business industry which will filter into the Institute’s research, teaching and enterprise activities. The Board will also contribute to employment opportunities for ISB graduates.

The Board will review the Institute’s offering and ensure the Institute appropriately balances its theory teaching with its industry insights.

At the first meeting, academics from the Institute introduced the programmes currently being taught this academic year (MSc Sport Business and Innovation, MSc Sport Business and Leadership, and MSc Sport Digital and Media Technologies). The programme directors explained the motivations behind offering each of the individual programmes and how these were unique.

To complete the meeting, three PhD students were specially selected to present their PhD research to the Board. Jacky Mueller, a Loughborough University London Master’s graduate from Germany, discussed her research into Leadership Perceptions in Professional Football. Daniel Read followed, discussing his research into the World Anti-Doping Agency from an organisational institutional perspective. To finish, Tian Lin, another Master’s graduate, this time from China, discussed his research interest in leadership in a Chinese sports context with the Board members.

Following from the meeting, students, academics and board members took the opportunity to network.

If you would like to find out more about the Advisory Board, please contact  or Professor James Skinner.

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

Specialising exclusively in postgraduate-level study, Loughborough University London is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers cutting-edge master’s and PhD degrees, as well as business collaboration, research and enterprise opportunities.

The seven specialist institutes at Loughborough University London include: Design Innovation, Digital Technologies, Diplomacy and International Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Management, Media and Creative Industries, and Sport Business. Close industry partnerships with a wealth of leading businesses and creative organisations means teaching and learning is informed by real-life challenges and driven by true industry pressures.